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I only had a GC repair person work on one guitar of mine. It was a Taylor 912CE that I bought at that store. He really messed up the setup so I brought it to St. Paul Guitar Repair and they made it right for me. Other than that one instance, my experience at our 4 local Guitar Centers has been positive.
Not too long ago, I ordered a Novation Summit keyboard and it was shipped from a warehouse in (I think) Missouri. It arrived perfect and without incident. I have bought several pieces of new and used equipment there and it was all good. They even have a 10% discount for veterans (not on sale or used items, but on new items).
Around here, the sales people at GC (at least the ones I have worked with) have been well informed and are either attending school in some music-related study plan and/or are regularly gigging somewhere.
Tony
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04-30-2024 12:06 PM
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I don't think I have bought anything other than strings from a Guitar Center. And I have never been impressed with either their inventory or the knowledge of those who work there.
The idea of having one of their "techs" work on one of my guitars is worthy of a nightmare. I can't think about that.
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Guitar Center use to be totally awesome. And their inventory was probably the best you could find anywhere.
In the 1970s there was one Guitar Center in the L.A. area and it was on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. I lived about a 30 minute drive away. As a teenager I'd go there with my friend's just to gawk at the music guitars, amps, drums etc. The employees were musicians, good musicians. They had a bandstand in the middle of the store were local musicians and/or employees might do an impromptu jam session. If you were lucky you could catch a music celebrity playing.
Around 1974ish I was playing Classical Gas on an acoustic guitar there and heard someone playing along... It was Randy Rhoades.
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They had a mint used Fishman Artist acoustic amp at a great price. I wanted to see how it stacked up against my similar spec'd Genzler. But I didn't want to bring mine in and be rushed into a quick session. So I double checked if used items carry the 30-day return policy. The guy said yes. So I bought it, and sure enough it said so on the receipt, even with the last return date. This was around the holidays, so I was pretty busy, but I was able to spend several sessions with the two amps side by side. I liked the flexibility of the Fishman controls better, but the Genzler's pure acoustic tone was MUCH better/realistic. No contest. So I returned the Fishman just a day before the deadline. They happily took it back no questions asked.
Originally Posted by FRRGC_
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Were you just visiting WNY? Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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Yes, I grew up there, played a bunch of gigs on Niagara Falls Blvd. at the 3 Coins and at the Scene. I have family there, and returned for some gigs with the old band so it was easy to spend time there. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Every once in a while you see vintage archtops listed at very low prices at GC. I'm always tempted to call them for an expert evaluation to determine if I want to buy one. Problem: GC has no experts! The phone call is worthless. Back when I first noticed all these low listing at GC, I actually ordered a few vintage guitars from them to try out. Without fail, I had the same experience: undisclosed repairs and modifications, gutted electronics, non original cases, replaced hardware, poorly executed refrets. Any guitar I got was ultimately returned to GC.
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Awesome! Thanks for the laugh JZ. Originally Posted by jzucker
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I was able to get a nice used Super 400 from GC.
It was at one of their Houston stores.
They shipped it to a Tucson GC and I was able to check it out before committing to the purchase.
I also abused their credit card so I could spread out the payments over 3 years at 0% interest.
Still have it.
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I also got this from GC. Brand new never played, previously owned by a collector. Got it for $9500.
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Beautiful instrument and quite the find! Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
I have seen/heard/read on occasion that GC no longer carries the breadth and scope of stock they carried years ago. This does seem to be true, but there are times when used stuff comes in that you can't find anywhere else locally. You can always find stuff on reverb or ebay, but I personally much much much prefer to buy locally where I can see and play the item before buying. This isn't always possible, but it happens often enough to keep me happy.
Tony
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I find GC to still be a decent online shopping experience.
I've been using mostly Mark Bass products for my bass gigs and GC is the only US source. The guitar player in my bands is using their DVMark products.
There are some stories of GC shipping beat up used gear that was sold as new or shipping items in crappy packaging.
But they'll ship my order to the nearest brick and mortar store if I want.
That eliminates the shipping headaches and allows me to inspect my order before committing to the purchase.
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I guess "typical" GC shoppers don't look for Super 400's!!! You guys are so lucky.
I bought my L5 CES at the NYC store.
Tbeltrans: I agree with you. GC recently had some Gibson 335's and a 345 or two. I am looking for the right 335, and at GC, I was able to audition a couple, plus A-B them with my current one, to see if I could justify the upgrade and $$$. I have bought 4 guitars from them in the past 10 years. I only bought them because I could play them first and determined if they deserved a place in my stable.
I could look at SW and CME, they have them....but i can't play them
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The Three Coins! Tony Oodie (sp?) Sleezy disco ball. Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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I miss disco balls.
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My daughter worked at GC some years ago, as the rentals manager and later in charge of lessons at a store. I bought some things, because I could get them at employee prices. They once had an auction for used guitars, for employees only, with hundreds of guitars of all sorts. She asked me if I would be interested in any of them. Most were of no interest to me, but one, near the end of the list, was. It was a Benedetto 7-string from 1978, the third 7-string he ever built, the next after Bucky Pizzarelli's. Turned out it had been made for a collector, had very little play time, in mint condition. The starting bid was about $3800 or so, and I told her if she could get it for $4,000, I wanted it. She bid $4,000 to start, and apparently was the only bidder. I suppose the GC employees didn't know about Benedetto guitars. That guitar paid for a new roof on my house.
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I remember playing that guitar at the "flagship" GC on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. The store is in a converted movie theater, and where the screen used to be, way in the back was/is the "vintage" section. Way at the top they had built a loft area and they kept the most archtops up there. There were three Benedettos up there, 2 six string models, one in natural finish and one SB, and that 7 string. All were there for years, with $25,000 price tags. All were from Bob's early period. Every time I was in town I'd stop by and play them, I felt sorry for them gathering dust, rusty strings. The 7 was unplayable for me due to the nut width. Originally Posted by sgosnell
IIRC, the 7 you bought had "Sugar Ray" inlayed on the pickguard, and was later converted to a 6 string and sold by Archtop.com for a handsome price.
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Yeah, that's the one. I didn't think it was difficult to play, but I was afraid to play it for fear of scratching it, or worse. Joe didn't think it could be sold as a 7-string, so he talked me into having it converted to a 6. Maybe Bob hadn't completely thought through the 7-string concept back then, and built it with a 1.75" nut. Not that bad for me, but I can see how some would find it too narrow. I guess GC decided to write off losses on a lot of guitars, and dumped them to employees across the country. Whatever, it's the only guitar I ever bought as an investment and it was a good one. It's not something I look for, though, and probably never will do it again. I buy guitars to play, not as a financial investment.
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That's a beauty. Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
Waiting to buy strings in the Totowa, NJ GC last week, I opened up a D'Angelico hard case that was on the counter, something someone apparently just sold to the store. Inside was a marvelous New Yorker. Unfortunately, the entire inside of the case, and probably the guitar, too, smelled like a cigarette factory.
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Purchased a nice $2700 Headstrong Twin with Alnico speakers from them back in 2014, for $1k. Heckuva buy for such a nice amp. Also purchased a nice Guild Benedetto archtop from them in 2015 signed by Johnny Smith for $4300, they were going for $6500 back then and were unsigned guitars. Only two items I’ve ever purchased from GC.
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